Residential dry sprinkler design method and system

A method of designing a dry pipe residential fire protection system in a residential dwelling unit having a plurality of compartments as defined in the 2002 National Fire Protection Association Standard 13D and the method comprising:

• determining a wet design area of a wet pipe fire sprinkler system and a minimum number of residential fire sprinklers based on a hydraulic demand calculation of all residential fire sprinklers up to two sprinklers within a compartment of the residential dwelling unit for the wet system;
• and
• specifying the minimum quantity and location of residential fire sprinklers, as determined, for the dry system having a dry design area the same as the wet design area for the wet system, the dry system including—
• a water supply source to provide sufficient water flow rate to a network of pipes so as to maintain a preselected density under National Fire Protection Association Standard 13D for a predetermined duration;
• a single control valve;
• a dry pipe valve;
• and
• a network of pipes to be filled with a gas when the residential sprinklers are in an unactuated condition so that the pipes are dry.

A method of designing a dry pipe residential fire protection system in a residential dwelling unit having a plurality of compartments as defined in the 2002 National Fire Protection Association Standards 13 and 13R, the method comprising:

• determining a wet design area of a wet pipe fire sprinkler system and a minimum number of residential fire sprinklers based on a hydraulic demand calculation of all residential fire sprinklers up to four sprinklers within a compartment of the residential dwelling unit for the wet system;
• and
• specifying the minimum quantity and location of residential fire sprinklers, as determined, for the dry system having a dry design area the same as the wet design area for the wet system, the dry system including—
• a water supply source to provide sufficient water flow rate to a network of pipes so as to maintain a preselected density under National Fire Protection Association Standards 13 and 13R for a predetermined duration;
• a single control valve;
• a dry pipe valve;
• and
• a network of pipes to be filled with a gas when the residential sprinklers are in an unactuated condition so that the pipes are dry.

A method comprising:

• identifying fire protection information for a residential dwelling unit as defined in the 2002 National Fire Protection Association Standards 13, 13D, and 13R, the fire protection information including—
• at least one type of residential fire sprinkler for each of the plurality of protected areas including a rated K-factor for the fire sprinkler;
• a plurality of areas to be protected in the dwelling unit, each of the plurality of protection areas includes at least one of a generally flat, sloped or beamed ceiling and has a dimension of X by Y, wherein X is any value from 10 feet to 20 feet and Y is any value from 10 feet to 24 feet, wherein the plurality of protection areas is related to at least one of the following—
• (a) type of ceiling over the design protection area;
• (b) spacing between any two of the at least one type of residential fire sprinklers;
• (c) rated K-factor of the at least one type of residential fire sprinkler from nominally 4 to 6;
• (d) minimum flow rate per sprinkler;
• (e) pressure of fluid being supplied to the at least one type of residential fire sprinkler;
• and
• (f) temperature at which the at least one type of residential fire sprinkler activates;
• and
• a plurality of minimum flow rates and residual pressures to identify a hydraulic demand for a wet pipe system based upon hydraulic demand design criteria including a wet design area for the wet system designed under guidelines set forth by at least one of 2002 National Fire Protection Association Standards 13, 13D and 13R so as to define a hydraulic demand for a dry pipe system configured to protect the plurality of areas, the hydraulic demand of the dry system being the same as hydraulic demand of the wet pipe system;
• and
• directing a user to design a dry pipe residential fire protection system having a dry design area such that the dry design area of the dry pipe system is the same as the wet design area of the wet pipe system.

A process of installing a dry pipe residential fire protection system in a residential dwelling unit having a plurality of compartments as defined in the 2002 National Fire Protection Association Standards 13, 13D, and 13R, the process comprising:

• determining a dry design area of a dry pipe residential fire protection system design including a dry hydraulic demand of the dry pipe system;
• determining a wet design area of a wet residential fire protection system including a wet hydraulic demand of the wet system;
• specifying that the dry design area of the dry pipe system is the same as the wet design area of the wet pipe system;
• specifying that the dry hydraulic demand of the dry pipe system is the same as the wet hydraulic demand of the wet system;
• and
• installing a plurality of residential sprinklers interconnected by a network of pipes filled with a gas and connected to a fluid supply by a control valve, the sprinklers being spaced apart so that a plurality of hydraulically remote sprinklers define an actual dry hydraulic demand of the dry pipe system that is the same as the specified dry hydraulic demand;
• wherein the fluid supply satisfies the actual dry hydraulic demand within a maximum water delivery time of 15 seconds.